Mobile communication devices have become increasingly common in current society. The prevalence of these mobile communication devices is driven in part by the many functions that are now enabled on such devices. Increased processing capabilities in such devices means that mobile communication devices have evolved from being pure communication tools into sophisticated mobile multimedia centers that enable enhanced user experiences.
The redefined user experience requires higher data rates offered by wireless communication technologies, such as long-term evolution (LTE) and fifth-generation new-radio (5G-NR). To achieve the higher data rates in mobile communication devices, sophisticated power amplifiers may be employed to increase output power of radio frequency (RF) signals (e.g., maintaining sufficient energy per bit) communicated by mobile communication devices. However, the increased output power of RF signals can lead to increased power consumption and thermal dissipation in mobile communication devices, thus compromising overall performance and user experiences.
Envelope tracking (ET) is a power management technology designed to improve efficiency levels of power amplifiers to help reduce power consumption and thermal dissipation in a mobile communication device. In an ET system, an ET power amplifier(s) amplifies an RF signal(s) based on time-variant voltages generated in accordance to time-variant amplitudes of the RF signal(s). The time-variant voltages increase as the time-variant amplitudes rise and decrease as the time-variant amplitudes fall. As such, the time-variant voltages correspond to a time-variant voltage envelope that tracks a time-variant power envelope associated with the time-variant signal amplitudes of the RF signal(s). Notably, the better the time-variant voltage envelope tracks the time-variant power envelope, the higher efficiency can be achieved in the ET power amplifier(s). In this regard, it may be necessary for the ET system to constantly adjust the time-variant voltages applied to the ET power amplifier(s) to ensure that the ET power amplifier(s) can consistently operate at a desired efficiency for any given instantaneous power requirement of the RF signal(s).